Anthem of the Angels
by Chostani-san128
Summary: What happens when Cloud gives in to Sephiroth and Tifa is the only one who can stop him from destroying the world? Song-fic one-shot. Song by Breaking Benjamin. Cloti. T for safety. R&R.


**A/N: Ok, so I'm sorta new at this, so please give me some feedback. Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth are not mine, but the property of Square Enix. The song is Anthem of the Angels by Breaking Benjamin, and that is not mine, either (obviously). I got the random urge to write one of these and I might do more, depending on what sort of feedback I get (if it turns out to be total crap, I might not try another one). I took a little liberty with the basic storyline, but followed along the general idea.**

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_White walls surround us_  
_No light will touch your face again_  
_Rain taps the window_  
_As we sleep among the dead_

Tifa looked up at Cloud, who hung in front of her, arms spread wide and wrists chained to the wall. His eyes were closed and he was deathly still. Even his blonde hair seemed uncharacteristically limp. She sat at his feet, the rain that poured through the jagged hole in the ceiling of the church drenching her black hair and molding it to cheekbones that stuck out too sharply under shadowed eyes.

She hadn't seen the sun in . . . too long. Ever since the day that Sephiroth had come back from the dead and thrown the world into darkness—come back from the dead within Cloud's body. Half of Midgar's population was either dead or dying from the rampage.

_Days go on forever  
But I have not left your side  
We can chase the dark together  
If you go then so will I_

Tifa couldn't even remember how long she had been sitting here, agonizing, waiting, hoping, praying that Cloud would come back to her. As the city died around her, she remained. As the cold winds of night whistled through the walls, she knelt before him and wept. As the drenching rains of the day fell, she bowed her head and prayed.

_There is nothing left of you  
I can see it in your eyes  
Sing the anthem of the angels  
And say the last goodbye_

She remembered the day that the door to Seventh Heaven had slammed open, cold wind driving rain into the room upon the people there as they cowered in front of the figure standing in the doorway.

_Malevolent green eyes stared across the bar, striking fear into every heart, halting every breath. The only sound was the distant rolling of thunder. Tifa stopped in the middle of pouring a drink and looked across the room at the familiar face. A wave of sadness swept through her chest at the sight._

_He drew his sword from his back scabbard and let all hell break loose. Those in the room never had a chance against the flashing crimson blade. Tifa stood frozen behind the bar, watching as Cloud came closer, the bringer of destruction. Tears streamed down her face at seeing the sword, Zack's only remaining legacy, being used in such a manner. She knew this was not what Cloud would want._

_For some reason she would never know, he stopped in front of her. She looked to his face and met his gaze. Except it wasn't his. This wasn't Cloud, it was Sephiroth, an imposter. Cloud was gone. He had finally given up._

_Cold light above us  
Hope fills the heart and fades away  
Skin white as winter  
As the sky returns to grey_

_Her voice surprised her. "Cloud?" she said, all of her pain and desperation evident in that one syllable. "Where did you go? I need you."_

_For a moment, a hint of blue returned to his eyes and his voice was his own when he spoke, but the pain in his gaze betrayed the effort it took to stay in control. "I- I'm sorry, Tifa. I just can't do it anymore. He's too strong." He reached out and put a tentative hand on her neck, gently caressing it, and drew her into his strong embrace. She drank in his warmth and his soft smell for the last time. "I love you, Tifa," he whispered, and she could feel him quivering against her. "Be strong for me when I'm gone." Pulling away from her a bit, he raised a hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the ground._

_Tifa knelt next to him, amidst the blood and darkness, and wept._

_Days go on forever  
But I have not left your side  
We can chase the dark together  
If you go then so will I_

_She chained him while he was unconscious, slung him across Fenrir—it was the last delivery the motorcycle would ever make—and took him to Aerith's church, hoping that returning there would bring Cloud back, knowing it was useless. But she had to try, because where Cloud went, so she would go also. She could not commit herself to death unless all else had failed._

_There is nothing left of you  
I can see it in your eyes  
Sing the anthem of the angels  
And say the last goodbye_

As Tifa watched the man hanging in front of her on the wall, his eyes came open and glared down at her with unveiled malice. Tifa glared tearfully back at him.

"I hate you, Tifa. Mother and I will never rule the planet while hanging from a wall. But why haven't you killed me yet? Your precious Cloud is gone—trapped. You have me here. You have nothing to lose."

Tifa surged to her feet. "Why did you take him from me?" Her angry cry echoed off the walls. "You already died! You had your chance! Isn't one life enough?" She sank back to her knees, her voice becoming a pained whisper. "Isn't one life enough?"

_I keep holding onto you  
But I can't bring you back to life  
Sing the anthem of the angels  
Then say the last goodbye_

There was her answer, she realized. Sephiroth would never relinquish his hold over Cloud, and Cloud had given up. It was against Sephiroth's nature to give any ground, and he didn't mind his death, as long as it brought others misery. In his eyes, this was not losing the battle.

Tifa would never bring Cloud back. He might as well be dead, except it was worse because he was trapped somewhere deep inside, with Sephiroth. Better for him to be free of all bounds then stranded within a madman.

_You're dead alive  
You're dead alive  
You're dead alive  
You're dead alive_

He breathed, but he couldn't speak. She could touch him, but he couldn't feel. She could love him, but he didn't know. He was alive, but he would spend the rest of eternity wandering in an endless maze of terror. It was time to set him free.

_There is nothing left of you  
I can see it in your eyes  
Sing the anthem of the angels  
And say the last goodbye_

Tifa stood up and came up close to Cloud's body, staring into Sephiroth's eyes while slipping a knife out of the sheath at her belt.

"I know you're in there somewhere, Cloud," she said. "And if you can hear me, goodbye. I'll see you soon."

His eyes only widened slightly in surprise as the knife slid home between his ribs. She pulled it out of him and a stream of crimson ran down the blade and dripped onto her hands. It seemed as if a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he slumped forward and the light went out of his eyes.

_I keep holding onto you  
But I can't bring you back to life  
Sing the anthem of the angels  
And say the last goodbye_

It was time to let go, once and forever. She had said goodbye. Tifa aligned the knife with her own heart, and her blood spilled down her chest, pooling with the rain on the ground. She collapsed onto the floor and lay looking up at Cloud's face as her vision faded. And as night descended upon her, she thought she saw a ray of light shine through the broken roof of the church, falling upon the flowers that, despite all odds, were still standing strong.

_Sing the anthem of the angels  
And say the last goodbye_


End file.
